CONVERTING ONEWAY STREETS TO TWOWAY STREETS CREATES HIGHER ACCIDENT RATES

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Michael J. Cunneen April 2009
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• The Traffic Calming Movements Crusade Against
  One-Way Streets
• The Evidence from the Past on One-Way Streets
• The Evidence from Recent Studies on One-Way
  Streets
• Recent Evidence from Downtown Albuquerque, New
  Mexico
• Misconceptions Regarding One-Way Street
  Conversions

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Converting Two-Way to One-Way Portland,
Oregon, 1959 Weighted average traffic accident
rate ? 24 Weighted average pedestrian accident
rate ? 38
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Converting Two-Way to One-Way
New York City, 1966 Accident rates ? 38 Overall
accident injuries ? 28 Traffic volume speed
? London, England, 1987 Accident rates ? 40
Speed ?
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Converting Two-Way to One-Way
Hamilton, Ontario, 1956-1960 Accident rates ?
17 Modesto, California, 1957 Pedestrian
injuries ? 57 Accident rates ? 10 Speed ? 100

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Converting One-Way to Two-Way
Denver, Colorado, 1986 Intersection accident
rates ? 37.6 Mid-block accident rates ?
80.5 Lubbock, Texas, 1995 Accident rates ?
41.6 Speed ? 100
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Converting One-Way to Two-Way
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Converting Two-Way to One-Way
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Converting One-Way to Two-Way
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• General Safety
• Speed and Safety
• Why One-Way is Safer for Vehicles
• Why One-Way is Safer for Pedestrians and
  Bicyclists
• Speed and Severity of Accidents

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• The Quack Public Health Case Against One-Way
• Why One-Way Does Not Lead to Longer Trips
• Why One-Way is Better for the Environment
• Why Traffic Calmers Dont Get It About One-Way
  Streets
• What Can be Done to Promote One-Way Streets

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extend the use of one-way streets to cover all
streets to have safe and convenient conditions
for pedestrians as one-way streets help the
pedestrian to an extraordinary extent such that
The one-way operation of roads will insure a
large measure of safety for pedestrians crossing
at any point.
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The advocacy of the universal use of one-way
streets is the most fundamental suggestion
embodied in this book there does not appear to
be any important reason why streets in cities
should be operated upon the two-way principle.
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The best solution would extend the use of
one-way streets to cover all streets from a
safety standpoint then, this is the most logical
reason for adoption of one-way method. and Safet
y considerations Are wholly in favor of the
one-way idea.
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